Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn will face conservative businessman Craig Huey in a July runoff for former Rep. Jane Harman's congressional seat after Secretary of State Debra Bowen, unable to elbow Huey out in final ballots, conceded Thursday. With all but a handful of ballots from Tuesday's primary counted, Bowen trailed Huey by 750 votes in an upset that is likely to draw party resources — and more national attention — to the race. Politics watchers had expected a second-round contest between Hahn and Bowen, both Democrats.

Who will compete in the runoff to replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) won't be determined until at least Friday, when workers finish counting the estimated 9,811 remaining ballots, L.A. County elections officials said Wednesday. The top finishers late Tuesday night were Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and conservative businessman Craig Huey, with 13,137 and 11,648 votes, respectively. But Secretary of State Debra Bowen trailed Huey by just 206 votes. A candidate has five days after the tally is completed to seek a recount.

In a seemingly major upset in the race to replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), Republican Craig Huey appears to have captured one of the spots in a July 12 runoff. With all of the election night ballots counted late Tuesday, Huey squeaked past California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, by 206 votes. If the outcome stands after outstanding ballots are counted, Huey will face Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a Democrat. Antiwar activist and teacher Marcy Winograd, who challenged Harman twice in Democratic primaries, finished fourth.

When South Bay businessman Craig Huey filed to run for former Rep. Jane Harman's congressional seat in next week's special election, many political observers dismissed him as an underfunded, inexperienced candidate trying to cut his teeth in a crowded field. That changed recently when Huey pumped half a million dollars of his own money into his campaign —enough to spread his conservative Republican, cut-federal-spending message throughout the strongly Democratic district. The money has gone toward mail, signs and TV and radio spots scheduled to start airing this week, all designed to put the first-time candidate on voters' radars.

Lou Baglietto Jr. set some tough rules for a recent congressional candidates' debate: Participants needed a war chest of at least $50,000 or had to have made a good showing in a past election. Some of the 16 people hoping to succeed former Rep. Jane Harman in this month's special vote complained, but Baglietto, who helped organize the debate for the South Bay chambers of commerce, stuck to his guns. Anyone who didn't meet his test was "not going to be competitive" in the race, he said, implying that including the also-runnings would be a waste of time.

An underdog candidate for a South Bay congressional seat has lent his campaign a second $250,000, pushing him past the $500,000 mark and giving him the biggest war chest of any of the 16 contenders to replace former Rep. Jane Harman, campaign records showed Friday. The latest infusion by Republican businessman and first-time office seeker Craig Huey enabled him to overtake Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who had raised nearly $424,000 in contributions, and Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who had collected about $338,000 as of the April 27 end of the latest campaign finance reporting period.

Volunteers are knocking on doors and working the phones, and the campaign brochures are landing in mailboxes with increasing regularity. Mail-in ballots are available this week, and a couple of dark-horse candidates have shown they have money to spend. The crowded May 17 election to succeed Jane Harman in Congress has entered a new phase. Sixteen candidates are on the ballot, about half of them with at least some money for substantive campaigns. Most observers expect that no single candidate will win a majority next month; the two highest vote-getters, regardless of party, may well compete in a July 12 runoff.